Previewing the UEFA Women’s Champions League Semifinal | OneFootball

Featuring a stacked foursome of global giants, the UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinals are set to be appointment television.

The UEFA Women’s Champions League is down to its final four, and you couldn’t have picked bigger clubs to reach this stage of the competition.

Barcelona, Lyon, Chelsea, and Arsenal are titans of their industry, all with ambitions of hoisting a trophy in Lisbon next month. There are no Cinderellas who are merely happy to be here in this grouping.

As we brace ourselves for what’s set to be a confluence of giants, let’s break down each club and their chances of bringing home the coveted Champions League trophy.

FC Barcelona

The two-time defending champions and quite possibly the standard for women’s club football, FC Barcelona Femeni once again find themselves within reaching distance of a UWCL title. In last year’s final, Barça finally disposed of Lyon — who they had previously lost to in both the 2019 and 2022 championship matches — and the stars may very well align for a rematch in 2025.

However, they’ll first have to get past a stacked Chelsea side (more on them later), which will be no easy feat — just ask Manchester City.

Barcelona still have an embarrassment of riches throughout their roster, including the top three Ballon d’Or finishers from last year, Aitana Bonmati, Caroline Graham Hansen, and Salma Paralluelo. In fact, Barcelona currently roster five out of the top 11 vote recipients of last year’s award. Superteam might be an understatement.

What’s even wilder, is the club might be better than it was last year, thanks to the addition of Ewa Pajor from Wolfsburg, who’s put together an absurd season, amassing 30 goal contributions (22 goals, eight assists) in 25 games across all competitions.

The usual suspects of Bonmati, Graham Hansen, Claudia Pina, Patri Guijarro, and — oh yeah — Alexia Putellas, have all put together strong campaigns as well. Then there’s Mapi Leon, who’s doing things like this in the UWCL quarters against Wolfsburg.

Paralluelo, one of the world’s top young talents, missed the first 12 Liga F matches of the season with a lingering knee injury, but she’s since returned back to her lethal self and scored three goals over the two legs against Wolfsburg.

All of this to say — Barcelona remain the clear front runners in this competition. They’ve won 22 out of 24 Liga F matches thus far, with a ridiculous +81 goal differential (96 for, 15 against). Add to that a +31 GD through seven UWCL games, and you have a team that’s simply operating on another level. It’s them, then everyone else. But Chelsea are no slouches either.

Chelsea

Looking to shove the immovable object that is Barcelona, Chelsea have been somewhat of an unstoppable force of their own this season. Sitting atop the WSL undefeated with four matches to play, the Blues employ a stacked roster, even without million-dollar transfer Naomi Girma, who went down with a calf injury in her club debut, and Sam Kerr, who tore her ACL last January.

Their numbers aren’t as gaudy as Barcelona’s, but any combination of Mayra Ramirez, Lauren James, Agnes Beever-Jones, Guro Reiten, or Catarina Macario up front makes for an intimidating attack, and a defense anchored by Lucy Bronze, Sandy Baltimore, and Millie Bright has allowed just 13 goals through 18 WSL matches this season.

Perhaps the highlight of Chelsea’s year thus far came in the UWCL quarterfinals against Manchester City, where they put together a domineering 3-0 second leg victory after falling down 2-0 in the first leg.

All three goals came in the first half, where Chelsea put on an absolute clinic and probably should’ve had more to show for it. If they can maintain that kind of play against Barcelona, it’s not totally out of the question for them to pull off an upset.

Lyon

Before Barcelona Femení were the talk of the women’s football world, there was (and still is) Olympique Lyonnais Féminin. The French powerhouse has the most UWCL titles with eight — double that of second-most Eintracht Frankfurt — and has put together a dominant 2024-25 campaign.

With three games left to play in the Première Ligue season, Lyon are undefeated, winning 18 matches and drawing one. Their +81 goal differential matches that of Barcelona, and should they finish the job, it’ll be their fifth undefeated season since 2017-18. Lyon have lost just three league matches in that eight-season span, and have long been the class of women’s football.

Leading the charge offensively is 21-year-old Haitian international Melchie Dumornay, who, after showing promise in her first year with the club last season, is in full breakout mode in 2024-25. In 23 matches across all competitions, she’s tallied 27 goal contributions (19 goals, eight assists), and should be in the running for a Ballon d’Or. A UWCL trophy would certainly help her cause.

Joining Dumornay in the attack are veterans Kadidiatou Diani and Tabitha Chawinga, while a dynamic midfield featuring Lindsey Heaps, Damaris Egurrola, and Dzennifer Marozsán provide a wealth of experience. Vanessa Gilles and Wendie Renard — one of the best center back pairings in the world — anchor the back line along with Ellie Carpenter on the right and a platoon of Sofie Svava and Selma Bacha on the left.

The entire lineup from front to back is capable of scoring, making Lyon one of the most dangerous teams in the world, and they’ll be looking for their get-back should they face Barcelona in the final. But a pesky Arsenal side will first stand in their way.

Arsenal

After a lukewarm start to the season, Arsenal sacked manager Jonas Eidevall and have since lost just one WSL match and find themselves looking to return to the UWCL finals for the first time since winning it all in 2007.

The rejuvenated North London side eked out a quarterfinal win against Real Madrid in similar fashion to Chelsea — winning the second leg 3-0 after falling 2-0 in the first. The Gunners’ resilience is the product of a roster with plenty of big match experience — Leah Williamson, Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead, and Lotte Wubben-Moy were all part of the Lioness squad that took home the 2022 EURO title, and Mariona Caldentey was an integral part of Spain’s 2023 World Cup campaign.

An American and Australian contingent consisting of Emily Fox, Jenna Nighswonger, Caitlin Foord, and Steph Catley bring some verve of their own, and Dutch keeper Daphne von Domslaar is among the best shot stoppers in the world.

Like fellow London side Chelsea, Arsenal have an uphill battle in front of them, but don’t expect them to be intimidated by their opponents.

Predictions

As much as we’d love for an upset or two to occur, Barcelona and Lyon are simply too stacked to bet against. But while our picks might be boring, these semifinal ties — along with the ensuing title match — will be appointment television.

A heated UWCL final rematch is in the cards, and we can expect a packed Estádio José Alvalade come May.